By scanning a person's iris and taking fingerprints, deployed soldiers are able to identify whether or not an individual is recorded as having participated in insurgent activities. (Contributed photo/Army Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod)

Technology coming to the aid of tacticians. That's the
nature of the modern Army, where research into new weapons, technologies and
methods all go towards helping the warfighter.

Here's a look at some of the newest technologies and
research:

At Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, the U.S. Army
Research Laboratory Human Research and Engineering Directorate are working on
robotic intelligence that will enable robots to move around their environment
using only voice commands. The technology would be valuable in the future of
unmanned systems, including drones, as well as in small robots that could be
used to counter improvised explosive devices.

The goal is to develop technology that would allow the
robots to autonomously perform a wide variety of actions in battlefield
conditions.

"We have found that in order to simulate complex
cognition on a robot, many aspects of cognition (long term memory and
perception) needed to be in place before any generalized intelligent behavior
can be produced," said Troy Kelley, cognitive robotics team leader, HRED.

In Charlottesville, Va., researchers at the National Ground
Intelligence Center are working on Biometrically Enabled Intelligence, or BEI,
the science of using iris scans, fingerprints and facial images to identify an
individual. BEI is currently being used by soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"Many in the military, to include Army intelligence
analysts, are unfamiliar with how those collections are planned, exploited,
analyzed and turned into a valuable source of information used to protect
friendly forces, identify persons of interest for questioning or targeting,
provide security to local populations, and protect our homeland," said
Gregory Sieminski, chief, Identity Intelligence Division, National Ground
Intelligence Center, known as NGIC.

NGIC is looking at ways to use BEI in a variety of ways,
particularly in situations where someone would want to conceal their identity.

"As BEI tradecraft is spread beyond its current wartime
origins, more and more Army intelligence analysts are learning the power of
fusing biometrics data with other, more traditional sources of
intelligence," said Spc. Kama Mountz, of the 500th MI Brigade. "My
training has been invaluable in identifying persons of interest in the U.S.
Pacific Command area of operation. As in the combat theaters, these individuals
seek to conceal their nefarious activities by remaining anonymous."

Mountz said BEI can deny foes that advantage.

"The work we do is not in isolation but rather a
collaborative effort across DoD and other government agencies," Mountz
said. "It's a great feeling at the end of the day to know that we're all
doing our part to protect the homeland."

At Picatinny Arsenal
in New Jersey, the "new" technology is making use of an old item. Picatinny
munitions experts have developed a process to recycle old artillery shells to
create safer and more realistic training rounds.

The old shell bodies were intended to be sold as scrap
metal, however, they program salvages the old projectile body and base, removed
the submunitions and reuses the metal parts to produce 155mm M1122 High
Explosive HE rounds. The M1122 will be used as the primary 155 training
projectile for HE artillery fire missions, replacing the more expensive 155mm
M804A1 Practice Projectile and M107 HE Projectile.

The M1122 also contain Insensitive Munitions Explosive-101
(IMX-101) which makes them safer for U.S. soldiers.

"We're actually enhancing the way soldiers train, doing
it at a significant cost savings and helping address the demilitarization
issue," said Marty Moratz, chief of the Conventional Ammunition Division
for PM CAS.

Some 280,000 M1122 rounds are scheduled to be built by 2018.
Repurposing the munitions could save the Army as much as $10 million per year.